Season-long slump puts Bradley in Pawtucket

Monday

Aug 18, 2014 at 8:55 PM

PAWTUCKET — The other shoe has dropped for Jackie Bradley Jr.Mired in a season-long offensive malaise, Bradley was sent down to Pawtucket on Monday. The timing is a touch strange, given that there are...

By TIM BRITTON

PAWTUCKET — The other shoe has dropped for Jackie Bradley Jr.

Mired in a season-long offensive malaise, Bradley was sent down to Pawtucket on Monday. The timing is a touch strange, given that there are only two weeks remaining in the Triple-A season. That time will be spent trying to get Bradley back on track with his bat.

Manager John Farrell said the demotion had “been talked about for a little while now.”

“It’s important to note this isn’t reactionary,” Farrell said at Fenway Park Monday. “We felt like some of the adjustments that were being worked on had some evidence inside of given games. We’re sending him out to maintain some of those adjustments.”

“I was definitely caught by surprise a little bit. But you know, a move had to be made,” Bradley said. “I wasn’t disappointed — not disappointed in the sense of going down. I was just disappointed in myself. If you play better, then they won’t send you down.”

Bradley’s offensive season had taken a dive over the last month or so. Following a promising month-long stretch in which he hit over .300 and drastically reduced his tendency to swing-and-miss, Bradley came tumbling down to earth. He endured an 0-for-35 tailspin that included 18 strikeouts. Even after rebounding with five hits in his last 16 at-bats, including two in Sunday afternoon’s loss to the Astros, he was hitting just .216 with a .288 on-base percentage and .290 slugging for the season.

That last number was the worst among qualified hitters in the American League by an astounding 34 points.

The center fielder understood this was a larger-picture issue.

“It’s really not a one- or two-day ordeal. I think it’s more a longer stretch,” Bradley said. “I’ve got to be accountable for myself and for the season, and I didn’t perform at the level that I feel like I’m capable of performing. Like they told me, it’s a performance-based league.”

The most concerning issue with Bradley’s recent performance at the plate has been the lack of contact. A hitter with reasonable strikeout rates and a distinct two-strike approach in the minor leagues has struck out at an astonishing rate in the majors. Bradley has struck out in 28.7 percent of his plate appearances — the fifth-highest rate in all of baseball. The four ahead of him are power hitters averaging more than 19 homers.

“It’s definitely different,” said Bradley of the swing-and-miss frequency. “It’s frustrating because I do feel like I’m putting good swings and not making contact. I think it’s just over time it will change. I obviously don’t want it to be where it has been.”

Bradley’s struggles are eye-opening given the consistency of his minor-league performance. He possessed a considerable track record of success on the offensive side that, combined with his defensive value, made him a relatively safe bet as a prospect. Clearly, that hasn’t worked out to this point.

“It’s difficult. You’re playing at the highest level, so that’s obviously not the time you want to struggle,” Bradley said. “This is pretty much the first time that I’ve really had to go through a true struggle in my baseball career. But you’ve got to keep persevering and keep playing. It’s far from over.”

This was about the latest in the season that Boston could send Bradley down. He’ll use the final two weeks of the minor-league campaign to reestablish some confidence before coming back to the majors in September.

Down in Pawtucket, Bradley will work on shortening a swing that’s slowly gotten longer. That’s left Bradley’s bat speed stuck in the middle a bit: He’s too slow on fastballs and too quick on offspeed. He’s been working on that consistently in early work the last few weeks, but he hasn’t been taking it into the game on a regular basis.

He’ll get that chance as the everyday center fielder for the PawSox over the next fortnight. Manager Kevin Boles left it up to Bradley whether he’d play on Monday night, and Bradley wanted to be in the lineup right away.

Bradley views this demotion and this season as a setback, but it doesn’t alter his long-range vision of himself or his potential. As he has all season, he said Monday that his self-confidence hasn’t changed.

“My confidence will never waver as long as I’ve got a breath in my body,” he said. “Talent is talent. You see the numbers, they don’t necessarily reflect the talent. It’s all about refining your talent and bringing out the best of your abilities.”

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.